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The Theme Of The Duality Of Human Nature In The Lottery

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In the short story, “The Lottery”, by Shirley Jackson shows the theme of The Duality of Human Nature. The character Tesse Hutchinson did not agree with “The Lottery” she thought it wasn’t fair. In the story Tesse Hutchinson husband got picked to be killed and that was when she said it wasn’t fair. This proves it because, when she thought it wasn’t fair, it was husband got picked. However some other people feel different about “The Lottery”. Old Man Warner however, agrees with “The Lottery”. Old Man Warner agreed with “The Lottery” because he’s been in “The Lottery” for 7 years and still didn’t get the black dot on his paper. This proves it because when Mr. Summer called Old Man Warner up, and he said, “he’s been in “The Lottery” for
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The narrator talks about a tradition called the lottery, in which, one of the citizens of a small farming town is picked to be killed. The townsfolk believe that the practice of the lottery will bring them a good harvest. The author states that, “The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago, and the black box now resting on the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner,”[5]. This quote conveys that the ritual that they had been using was very old. So old that, the originals had been lost and, the backup was older than the oldest man in the

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Some people see humans as a bright and inspiring species while some see the human race as an inexplicably evil and self absorbed group of primates. The Veldt by Ray Bradbury, The Cask Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe and The Lottery by Shirley Jackson highlight these inexplicable acts of murder and inhumanity. For example, in The Veldt, two children allow their parents to be mauled by lions to enable the prolonged use of the nursery. In The Lottery, people are being killed for no reason only to abide by the ways of the society, and in The Cask Amontillado, a man is left to suffer and die in a catacomb as an act of revenge for a minor slight.

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In Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," Mrs. Delacroix conveys the duality of human nature through abruptly betraying Tessie when she is chosen to be sacrificed. For example, before the lottery, Tessie talks with Mrs. Delacroix then "Tapped Mrs. Delcaroix on the arm as a farewell and made her way through the crowd" (Jackson 2). By tapping Mrs. Delacroix on the arm as 'a farewell,' Tessie wishes her luck and believes that Mrs. Delacroix is her friend. The friendly nature between the two women shows Mrs. Delacroix's righteous and kind side to her personality.

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Another reason the readers can tell Mrs. Hutchinson doesn’t enjoy the lottery is because she brought up excuses that the other towns or villages don’t do it so why do we need to do it. Some people feel differently than Tessie Hutchinson because they still want the lottery. Old Man Warner on the other hand, likes the lottery and wants to continue it. A reason that the reader knows that Mr Old Man

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“The Lottery” Interpretive Essay “The Lottery”, a short story by Shirley Jackson, is about a lottery that takes place in a small village. The story starts of with the whole town gathering in the town square, where Mr. Summers, the official, holds the lottery. After that, every family draws out of an old black box, and a certain family gets picked. Out of the certain family, one person gets picked as the unlucky “winner” of the lottery. In this short story, after the Hutchinson family gets drawn, Tessie Hutchinson is declared “winner” of the lottery.

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Now, in the story Old man Warner said that he has been in the lottery "Seventy-seventh time"(Jackson 4). I think if someone close to him ever won the lottery he would have looked at it differently. I believe that the only reason why Mrs. Hutchinson though it was wrong was because someone

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Hutchinson said, as quietly as she could. “I tell you it wasn’t fair. “ (para. 61 ) However, everyone else goes along with the lottery as though blind and oblivious to it’s fatal result that would prove to be the end of one of their own lives. All along, utilitarianism appears to be the key driving force behind this lottery.

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Literary Elements used in The Lottery By definition the word lottery means a process or thing whose success or outcome is measured by chance (“lottery”). To most people winning the lottery would conjure up excitement and overall good feelings. However, in the short story The Lottery written by Shirley Jackson, the lottery has a twisted and horrific meaning.

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Traditions have been sought after and passed on for generations; with no questions asked, whether humane or not, traditions are hard to break and diminish as they are often what a culture or community stands for. In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, a story about the tradition of a small village, is painted in impeccable details of peace, and serenity on a warm summer day, as everyone follows the tradition they have known since a long time ago despite the true intentions and meaning of it forgotten. The Lottery taking place annually is like no other lottery, it paints the true picture of the horror that epitomizes the tradition that none of the villagers dare to question, despite it creating separation between gender and families and ruining

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Adam’s and Old Man Warner’s discussion about the idea of giving up the lottery. Old Man Warner states that “there’s always been a lottery” (Jackson 142). The inference of Old Man Warner’s words and tone suggests that there will always be a lottery, and that it should always remain, that it is wrong to question its existence. Given the violent nature of the lottery’s results and its enduring tradition throughout generations of participants, each succeeding generation obviously grows accustom to the violence and brutality it calls for. The children, for example, readily prepare for the occasion by amassing “a great pile of stones in one corner of the square and [guarding] it” (Jackson 139).

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The Lottery In this short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson we can see the theme of the duality of human nature. Tessie Hutchinson thinks the lottery is unfair. She claims that they didn't get through time. But everybody had the same chance and time.

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The tradition of the lottery has been carried out for so long in this village that nobody even knows the reason for its occurring in the first place and nobody questions it. When Old Man Warner, the oldest man in the village, is told about other villages giving up the tradition of the lottery, he says that they are, “[A] pack of crazy fools [...]. There [has] always been a lottery [...]” (Jackson, 4). There is no reason why there has always been a lottery except that every year on June 27th, they held the lottery.

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“The Lottery”, a short story by Shirley Jackson, is about a lottery that takes place in a small village. The story starts off with the whole town gathering in the town square, where Mr. Summers holds the lottery. Once everyone gathers, every family draws a slip of paper out of an old black box, and the family with the black mark on their paper gets picked. After that, each family member older than 3 years of age re-draws a slip of paper again and this time, the person with the black mark on their paper gets picked as the “lucky winner” of the lottery. In this short story, after the Hutchinson family gets drawn, Tessie Hutchinson is declared “winner” of the lottery, with her reward is being stoned to death.

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The villagers are reluctant to give up their beliefs because they think that they might lose their distinction that separates them from others. Old Man Warner strongly disapproves of people who want to quit the lottery. He says, “There’s always been a lottery”3 so for him, these people are “crazy.”4 However, for the readers, his reluctance means that he is afraid to change his place within the society. He has gained the title of Old Man not only because he is the oldest man in the village but he has also been in the lottery for 77 years.

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